Welcome to LAKAW7107

The Republic of the Philippines is located in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean, on the Pacific Ring of Fire, bordered by the Philippines Sea to the east, the South China Sea to the west, and the Celebes Sea to the south. Local time is GMT + 8 hours.

LANGUAGE. The official language of the Philippines are Filipino (which is based on Tagalog) and English ( it is widely spoken ).Tagalog, Bisaya, Waray,Bicolano Ilocano, Ilonggo, Pampango and Pangasinenses, are the eight major dialects spoken by majority of the Pilipinos, over 111 local dialects are spoken in the country. English is generally used for commercial purposes, governmental and educational. The Philippines is the third largest group of English speaking people in the world, after United Kingdom and United States.

CLIMATE. The Philippines has a tropical marine climate, June to October is rainy season, with the months between July and September characterized by typhoons, while March to May is hot and dry.

CURRENCY. The currency of the Philippines is the Peso ( PHP ), it is subdivided into 100 centavos. Notes are available in denomintaions : P1,000, P500, P200, P100, P50 and P20. Coins in denominations are P10, P5 and P1, and 25,10, 5 and 1 centavos. Major credit cards are widely accepted in the cities and tourist destinations. ATMs ( Automated Teller Machines), are widely availabe in cities, open 24hours. Banks open from 9am to 3pm, Monday to Friday.